GREAT photos and thanks for sharing! Love the little inside pocket.
Not sure who much this means, but the oval buckle on the strap reminds me of the adjustment buckle on the sword belt for an M1850 Foot Officer's Sword. I am not absolutely sure of this, but I don't think that style buckle was much earlier unless it was on Horse Tack I'm not familiar with. Don't take that as "chiseled in stone," though.
Gus
Gus, those type of adjustment buckles were found on English belts from at least the Napoleonic Era.
Clark,
Good point. However, it did not show up much in the U.S. prior to few decades later at least as far as my books on belts and buckles show.
Gus
Canada used standard pattern Infantry and Riflemans gear of the British. Standard line Infantry didn't seem to wear belts often in that era, but all Rifle regiments did. Including any that came over here between 1812-1815. A lot of them came over during our unpleasantness of the 1860s, but even still most extant examples not dug at a battlefield come out of Canada. That type of adjustment is quite old, I've even seen similar examples found on Roman belts.
Carl,
I’ve been researching both the 60th and 95th Regiments as to their service in the War of 1812, to see how these adjustment buckles may have influenced Americans.
I included the 60th as 7th Battalion was a “Regular” Green Coated Rifle Unit like the 95th Rifles, but came from Germany and most could not speak English.
(
http://www.warof1812.ca/60th.htm) Though they participated in the Penobscot Campaign in Maine, not one of their (Rifle) troops was listed in the British Casualties of “1 enlisted man killed, 1 officer and 7 enlisted men wounded and 1 enlisted man missing.[1] Four of the casualties were from the 29th Regiment, two from the 62nd Regiment and 4 from the 98th Regiment.” (Oh, other sources beside WIKI confirm these casualties.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_HampdenI thought MAYBE at least some Rifle Companies of either the 60th or more likely the 95th participated in the Maryland Invasion. Actually there were no elements of either unit in that campaign, according to every account of British Forces I’ve been able to find.
The ONLY fighting the 95th lists in America in the War of 1812 was in New Orleans, were it is listed a Battalion of the Regiment was there.
The 95th , 60th and other British Regimental Histories all confirm there were no other Green Coated Rifle Regulars in or from Canada or Britain during the War of 1812.
So the only place that these adjustment buckles came to light for Americans was the Battle of New Orleans. I very much doubt that even if such buckles were taken from the dead or captured, it does not seem they could have influenced Americans very much outside those who were there. Is it possible one of the Kentuckian’s or other Troops could have brought back such a buckle as a trophy of war? Well, I suppose it might be, but again there is no evidence this type of adjustment buckle was used by U.S. Regulars or Militia for another couple or three decades later.
Gus
